‘X Factor’ contestant Paige has come a long way! Before she was a singing star, she ‘endured so much’ as a homeless teen mom.

Paige Thomas may be riding high as she serenades millions on The X Factor, but her life beforehand was very different. Paige lost her own mother at the age of seven, became homeless at 14, then gave birth to her daughter Jade (now 3) when she was 19.

Paige tells Star, “I endured so much during my childhood, and it would have been easier to just give up, but there was something telling me I shouldn’t end it. I cried a lot and I prayed a lot. My mother died in a car accident on Christmas Eve when I was 7, and my father just couldn’t deal with the pain.”

Paige then became homeless, and spent several years moving between friends homes until she realized she was pregnant just after she completed high school.

“My daughter wasn’t planned and completely changed my life,” she says. “Cheerleading and track were my passions and I had scholarship offers, but I had to take a different path.”

However, Paige has no regrets.

“I want other young women with children to know that regardless of what people say, they should follow their dreams,” she says.

What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Is Paige an inspiration to others?